


Carry On My Wayward Name

by TheyDraggedMeInNowIAintLeaving



Series: spnfluffbingo [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Not really though, allusions to pining, author thinks author is funny, dub-con kissing, implied various sexual act while participants were most likely underage, men kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 06:17:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14538495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheyDraggedMeInNowIAintLeaving/pseuds/TheyDraggedMeInNowIAintLeaving
Summary: Tired of always being asked when he’s getting kids, Dean persuades his best friend to fake date him. But child bearing hips or not it won’t stay fake forever





	Carry On My Wayward Name

**Author's Note:**

> Made for [DeanCas writing challenge](https://deancaswc.tumblr.com/) on tumblr  
> Prompt: Fake dating  
> Partner: galaxystiel
> 
> As well as a fill for the square _fake dating_ on my [spnfluffbingo](https://spnfluffbingo.tumblr.com/)-card.
> 
> Title thanks to the wonderful Senna_frost. And as always: kudos, comments and constructive critism welcome

Puberty hit Dean fast and hard. One minute he was rough housing with Sammy, the next he was sporting boners at inopportune moments left and right. It also opened his eyes to things he’d never before paid attention to, and soon he was begging his dad for the right to use the Impala every Friday and Saturday evening.

~x~

Cassie is the first girl he brings home, the girl who breaks his heart.

It starts ordinarily enough. She’s getting all the A’s in algebra while Dean’s barely scraping by on the right side of D and since the star player of the football team can’t be benched for something as trivial as equations and whatnot the teacher conscripts Cassie as his tutor.

They don’t get along; she thinks he’s a dumb jock and he thinks she’s an uptight know-it-all but eventually they both make the effort and soon sparks are flying.

Things are great - they go to the movies where they make out in the back row, then as they’re on their way home they make a short stop (no more than an hour, _maybe_ ninety minutes) and they almost stumbles across the line of third base, but even in a car as roomy as Baby there is no guarantee that something isn’t going to cramp up, killing the mood.

Once he’s finally parked in Cassie’s driveway and her hand’s on the door handle Dean invites her to dinner (as per his mother’s request) the following Friday and it’s all downhill from there.

Dinner’s nice; mom keeping the embarrassing stories to a minimum, dad making polite noises when she directs a question his way, Sammy shoveling food down his throat like it’s the last time he’ll ever eat and Dean looking forward to dessert (salivating at the scent of the cooling pastry wafting through the air, his mother’s apple pie forever a favorite). There’s no warning it’s going to happen, like a bolt from the blue dad’s mouth opens and words fall from his lips. condemning Dean to eternal singledom.

“When are we going to hear the pitter patter of tiny feet?”

All Dean can hear is the rush of blood in his ears, silently watching the blood drain from Cassie’s face and his mother’s slack jawed expression completely taken by surprise by her husband’s question (later she’s going to tell him how inappropriate he is, how if he ever gets the urge to ask either of his sons’ girlfriends that he should keep his mouth shut, but right now she’s speechless), his brother still shoveling food down like there’s no tomorrow not paying the drama any attention.

It’s hardly a surprise that Cassie excuses herself minutes later, declines the offer for a ride home and proceeds to ignore Dean’s texts, calls and general existence.

~x~

Cousin Gwen finally gives birth to a healthy baby girl letting Dean (an Sam) at long last being able to attend family gatherings without being mentally scarred. In the years past Gwen and her boyfriend have far too readily shared details such as the mobility of his sperm and the irregularity with which she’s been ovulating, not to mention a bunch of other things Dean’s desperately purging from his memory.

It turns out not to be the reprieve he’d hoped it would as his aunt and grandmother has taken to suddenly place the bundled up child in his arms whenever he’s in the vicinity, cheerfully asking when he’s getting one of his own. Dean only barely refrains from snapping at them that he’s only _sixteen_ and that there’s no way he’s ever getting a poop machine of his own. 

Thankfully the kid soon grows big enough to not having to be held constantly, and Dean only has to endure the question once at every get-together - he can’t wait for Sam to get older and having to share his burden.

~x~

There had been rumors when Dean and Cassie had broken up but apparently she’d been kind enough to keep his dad’s stupid question to herself so Dean never finds himself lacking company. The novelty of it all wears off at some point - sure, having a soft hand or warm lips wrapped around his dick is _awesome_ not to mention some of the things Rhonda Hurley made him do to her (the taste of her on his tongue lingering for hours after) had been mind blowing - and more often than not he stays home on the weekends only leaving the house by his mother’s request or for a game.

It doesn’t seem to deter his dad who keeps asking the question every month, but by now Dean just shrugs and goes help his mother with whatever she’s doing.

~x~

Working at Bobby’s garage - his dad’s old army buddy and something of an honorary uncle - is how he meets Cas.

Castiel Novak is new to town and drives the most horrible car Dean’s ever laid eyes on but he manages to keep his opinions to himself long enough to get to know him a little better. He’s a freshman at the local college still deciding on his major but leaning towards language and has never had pie in his life. At the admission Dean does what every upstanding citizen would and insists that Cas (he does not notice the faint blush on Cas’ cheeks at the shortening of his name) come for dinner to try his mother’s world famous apple pie.

By the end of the evening Dean’s cheeks hurt from smiling and there’s a warm feeling in his gut at Cas’ small (barely there) smile and it feels like they’ve known each other for years and not just hours.

And that’s how Cas becomes a permanent fixture in the Winchester household. His dark head bent over texts Dean can’t even think about without feeling his eyes droop or an essay he’s put off for too long in favor of going with Dean to the movies or keep him company while working. More often than not Sam’s sitting next to Cas at the dinner table with his own homework, nothing but the sound of pen against paper and the occasional whispers between the two.

When Dean gets home from the garage he’ll stop by to ruffle Sam’s hair and call the two of them “nerds” - his voice laced with warmth and affection - before taking a shower.

It’s Cas who in the end convinces him to go to trade school, who helps him find the right one and convince his parents that it’s the right thing to do - Dean’s not stupid but unlike Sammy he has neither the patience nor the desire to suffer through years of dusty old books and boring college professors (Cas glares at him when he says that, claims his professors most definitely aren’t boring, but it’s softened by the small smile he seems to reserve for Dean).

And it’s Cas who cheers the loudest when Dean’s presented with his diploma (Dean returns the favor a few years later when Cas finally graduates college) and presents him with the cherry wood frame for it.

~x~

Working more after graduating high school Dean doesn’t really miss the whole dating experience though he more than once drags Cas with him to the nearest bar, sometimes leaving the guy to get home by himself when he gets an offer too good to resist; not often though, nearing his twentieth birthday it’s as if everybody has decided that he should get about getting some kids, seeing as he’s the oldest and therefore responsible for carrying on the Winchester-name. ‘Incredulous’ does not even begin to describe the look he’d given his grandmother at that statement as he’d pointed out she was a Campbell. She’d just patted his arm and told him to find a nice girl soon.

One had come around a few months later with Cas’ sister, Anna, being in town visiting her brother. She’d been feisty and funny and completely different (yet comforting alike) her brother. With Cas busy with exams Dean had taken her out a few times, brought her home, too, always hoping dad would keep his mouth shut. She’d been nice about it when he hadn’t but had informed Dean afterwards that he was getting the condoms or she wasn’t going to put out. He’d lie if he said he wasn’t a little sad to see her go but mostly he was glad to have Cas for himself once more.

~x~

Dean finally snaps. He moved out of his parents’ house after his second paycheck from Bobby after becoming a certified mechanic, but seeing as he lives about half an hour’s drive away he still have dinner with his parents and Sam at least three times a week.

This particular Sunday his mom’s not home - visiting a friend who’d been in a car accident and needed help - and it’s as if her missing works as a permission for all of them to start in on the age old question on when Dean’s going to carry on the family legacy. He never really gets a word in as they all list different women who’d make good mothers and by the time dinner’s done he’s fuming, not staying to help with clean up as he usually would just storming out the door and speeding off. He’s not even sure he’s surprised when he realizes he’s ended up in front of Cas’ door.

Cas is getting the second six-pack when the idea hits him, and without pausing to consider whether or not it’s a good one the words simply tumbles out Dean’s mouth.

“ _We_ should date.”

He has half a second to clap himself on the shoulder in a job-well-done gesture when the sudden silence is broken by Cas’ incredulous;

“I beg your pardon?”

If there’s anything off with Cas’ tone Dean doesn’t notice, the buzz from the beers enough that he forges on rather than retreat.

“It’s a great idea. Would get dad and grandma off my back about the kid thing, you just don’t have the hips for childbearing,” Dean winks, clearly impressed with himself. Cas on the other hand seems less than pleased. Not that Dean gives him a chance to protest as he simply keeps talking, and talking, and then talking some more only to pass out mid sentence, never noticing the blanket Cas lays over his sleeping form; at least not until his alarm splits open his head and he gratefully down the glass of water and the two white pills Cas has left for him.

Dean’s almost forgotten last night, though it all comes rushing back when he gets a text around lunch simply stating “ **okay** ” without any further kind of explanation.

~x~

Nothing really changes. Dean and Cas still spend a lot of time together, Cas grading papers while Dean’s cooking in Cas’ apartment or Cas coming by with lunch while Dean’s at work. Their supposed relationship is announced with a throwaway comment the next time they’re both eating at Mary and John’s house and is lost in Sam’s stressed look and John’s yelling at the tv; it’s nice and normal and Dean has no idea why his stomach is in knots.

The real test however is Christian’s wedding. Dean hardly sleeps the night before, nerves getting the better of him and as a result he sleeps through the alarm; he showers as fast as humanly possible, throws on the suit hoping there are no wrinkles but gives up on the tie, sprinting down the stairs to Baby, flooring it on his way to Cas’.

That same uneasy feeling in his stomach as he sees Cas waiting at the curb, dressed in a light suit tie crooked where it’s a little too loose around his neck, but there’s no time to think about it as Cas opens the door and gets into the passenger seat, buckling up while Dean once more steps on it, luckily hitting all the green lights (and no pedestrians), parking and the two of them are inside the church before the organ starts playing and everybody gets to their feet.

Cas is a warm presence next to him as the priest speaks of love and solidarity, aunt Rose and uncle Declan whispering behind them and before long the ‘I do’s have been exchanged and they’re all making their way back to the reception hall while the happy couple are getting their pictures taken.

It’s easily the best family gathering Dean’s been to in years. Every time anybody asks if he’s found a girlfriend he points to Cas saying he’s gotten something better, and whenever somebody mentions children Dean just says neither of them have the hips for it.

He’s having way more fun with it than he thought he would, clearly this fake dating business was an inspired idea and he should give drunk him more credit than he usually does. That is until his grandmother corners them by the bar, suspicion written in every line of her face, the arms crossed over her chest as she looks them up and down and Dean can feel himself pale, knowing they’re standing too far from each other to be a couple, knowing they haven’t been touching since the left the church with the flurry of people and the small talk.

“So,” she begins, “you’re dating.” It comes out somewhere between question and statement though it’s clear she doesn’t believe it.

“Yes ma’am,”Cas answers, instantly cluing in to the fact that Dean’s paralyzed with fear.

“Really,” she says. “How long?”

“About two months, though, as you know, we’ve known each other for years.” There’s a pause, then he adds “ma’am,” his jaw tense though Dean thinks he’s the only one able to tell.

“That’s sweet,” she says in a way that indicates she thinks it’s anything but, and then she lights the metaphorical fire beneath Dean’s feet as she continues, “it’s customary for couples at a wedding to kiss when the bride and groom do,” which of course is when there’s clapping from the guests, some of the younger ones catcalling as Christian and Arlene are getting up on their chairs, kissing.

All Dean can see is the impossible blue of Cas’ eyes as he glances over, a question presumably answered as soft lips are suddenly on his. It takes him by surprise, he’d always thought it would be different kissing a guy than a girl, but Cas’ lips are just as soft as any other; slightly chapped and the stubble rasps weirdly against Dean’s skin, but the overall experience doesn’t feel as alien as he’d have thought.

Dean has no idea how long they’re kissing - a little dry, their mouths closed, chaste - the world slipping away as he steadies himself by grabbing Cas’ hips only to come crashing back with two words;

"I see.”

Opening his eyes (when did they close, he wonders) Dean watches in disbelief as his grandmother makes her way back to her seat, smiling at those she passes on the way. He doesn’t get to think about it or talk with Cas about what has just happened as Gwen and Arlene drags them off to the dance floor.

~x~

As Cas doesn’t bring up the kiss in the days to follow neither does Dean. Summer’s approaching fast and Cas is swamped with exams - thankfully his students’ and not his own anymore - so Dean can ignore the voice in his head telling him that he’s avoiding his friend, even if he uses his key to let himself into Cas’ apartment leaving him meals he’ll just have to warm in the microwave.

Then the break is upon them, high school students lazing about and Cas coming around for dinner at John’s and Mary’s.

There’s tension but Dean thinks maybe it’s just him as Cas hugs him briefly like he’s always done before slipping past him, a quick greeting thrown at John before making his way to the kitchen offering to help with whatever’s needed. Mary laughs and tells him to sit before raising her voice enough to reach the top of the stairs and past the closed door to Sam’s room informing everybody that dinner’s served.

Despite being the furthest away Sam’s the first one at the table, relieving his mother of the potatoes as she tries to put them on the table; with a shake of her head and a gentle slap to the back of Sam’s head she lets him take the pot before telling him to pass it on to Cas when he’s done.

Plates get filled amidst chatter and requests for this and that, the atmosphere warm and homey and Dean realizes he’s missed this, missed sitting at his parents’ kitchen table with Cas next to him talking to Sam about college, dad dividing his attention between the game on the tv and the conversation around him and his mother teasingly asking Sam if he’s met anybody special, smiling when he stutters and his cheeks go pink.

It takes him as long as the meal lasts, until there’s a half eaten slice of apple pie in front of him, to finally realize it. Even if he’d wanted he couldn’t stop the words spilling from his lips;

“I love you.”

The kitchen’s wrapped in stunned silence and all Dean can see is the bright blue of Cas’ eyes as they light in wonder, that small smile that has only ever been aimed at Dean, a calloused hand on his as Cas’ gravel rough voice answers.

“And I you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this was also posted on [tumblr](https://theydraggedmein.tumblr.com/post/173457813563/insert-title-here), do come say hi


End file.
